Sally watched Lisa’s face closely as she looked over the comic. Her expressions faded from shocked to excited to sympathetic and confused. Riley and Jorden did their best to explain things and share their theories with her. Every once in a while, Lisa would pause her reading to ask Sally a question in shaky Spanish.
“Did you know the lady’s name?” Lisa asked. Sally shook her head. “And you rarely saw her face?” Sally nodded. “She was the one who hurt you, right?” Sally nodded. Anger flared up in Lisa’s eyes, but it faded quickly. “I see. This lady wanted you and Riley to use your abilities for something, but you don’t know what?” Sally nodded again.
“How is any of this possible? What makes you two so special? Sally, do you have any idea what gave you and Riley this ability?” Lisa asked. Hesitation filled Sally as she glanced over at Riley. What would Riley’s reaction be to the truth? Should Sally even tell her? Didn’t Riley have a right to know the truth? Yes, she did. Sally lifted her box of crayons and began to draw a new panel. How exactly was she going to explain this to them? She began by pointing to herself. Lisa frowned. Sally drew a picture of herself and pointed again.
“Sally? Sally drawing?” Lisa asked slowly. Sally shook her head. “Um, girl? Child?” More head shaking. “Person?” Lisa was getting much closer. “Human?” Yes! Sally nodded eagerly. Then she pointed to Lisa and started drawing a picture of her.
“Forma?” Lisa asked. Sally nodded again. “Forma, human.” Sally turned back to her paper. Now came a tricky part. Carefully, so as not to ruin her drawing, she tore the picture down the middle. Pure confusion washed over Lisa’s face.
Sally pointed to each half, then slid them together. She did this multiple times, pausing to point at herself and Riley. For a few minutes, Lisa just looked totally lost. But as Sally continued pointing and gesturing impatiently to herself and her sister, Lisa’s eyes began to glow. A fresh look of shock appeared on her face.
“Surely, you don’t mean…” Lisa trailed off. “You two are half Forma?” It had worked. Sally felt her heart leap in her chest. She had done it! Lisa understood! Sally nodded eagerly. Jorden and Riley still looked confused. Now Lisa could tell Riley everything. At last, the truth would be shared, and Riley could understand just how special they were.
Lisa turned back to Jorden and Riley. Her tone had changed. She spoke very softly to the two of them. Sally leaned forward, eagerly awaiting Riley’s expression. All the joy and hope left Riley’s eyes. She stumbled back. Was she really that upset by the news? Sally frowned. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Riley.
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Shock and rage and sorrow appeared on Riley’s face. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Sally gasped. She had never before seen her sister act like this. Riley was yelling and looking around in a panic. But Sally couldn’t understand any of the things she was saying. Lisa tried to pull Riley into a hug. But Riley just turned and left the room. Without thinking about what she was doing, Sally leaped to her feet and began chasing after her sister.
Riley was flying up the stairs, sobbing and growling. If only Sally hadn’t told her. She should have kept it to herself. Look at what she had done! Riley didn’t turn back to look at Sally. She just ran to their room and hid herself under the covers.
Sally pulled back the covers to find a furious Riley glaring up at her. It only took a few moments for Riley’s sadness to turn into anger. Sally held out her hand to her sister. With a sudden show of strength, Riley shoved her back. Sally stumbled to the ground. Why had Riley done that? She had only wanted to comfort Riley.
Her sister had never treated her this way before. Now Sally’s heart was racing. Riley had always seemed to hate Formas. Did Riley hate her because she too was half Forma? Sally curled up into a little ball as tears filled her eyes. Why did everyone have to hate each other like this? Lisa was a Forma, and she was kind. So was Jorden. Why couldn’t everyone be like that? Why did Riley have to hate her own sister because of something she couldn’t help?
Sally felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Riley. All the anger had left her eyes. There was nothing but affection and compassion on her face now. Sally didn’t need to understand what Riley was saying to know that she was apologizing. Relief flooded Sally’s soul. Maybe things weren’t ruined after all. The two sisters embraced each other. For a moment, Sally savored the warmth in her heart. Riley had been upset, but Riley was still her sister. Forma or not, they were the same people they had always been. Nothing was going to change that. Sally wasn’t going to let anything ruin this precious moment. A loud ringing filled the air around them.
The doorbell was being rung once again. Sally felt Riley flinch. Who was that? Jorden didn’t get visitors very often. The sisters had been told to stay out of sight if the door was answered. But Sally couldn’t help but wonder. Riley’s eyes were also glowing with curiosity. They crept down the stairs carefully. Sally could hear Jorden opening the door. Now they could hear voices talking. Jorden’s voice sounded strange. He sounded nervous and unsure of what to say. Oh, how Sally wished she could understand what they were saying. She kept herself close to the wall as she carefully peered around the corner. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. Panic and horror took control of Sally. She turned to run away. Every inch of her body was screaming at her to get away. There stood the lady. She was smiling and talking to Jorden.